Al-Daein, March 12 (Darfur24)
The Ministry of Education in East Darfur State has begun registering secondary school students in preparation for exams that the parallel government, Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS), plans to hold in areas under its control next June.
The alliance, headed by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, announced in February its intention to organize secondary school certificate exams in territories it controls, parallel to those organized by the government led by army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in northern, eastern, and central Sudan.
Al-Sadiq Yusuf Sabil, Director of the Executive Administration at the Ministry of Education in East Darfur, said during a press conference in Al-Daein that exam forms had arrived from Nyala, marking the start of the process of counting and registering students expected to sit for the exams.
He said approximately 16,800 students from different batches are expected to take the secondary school certificate exams in the state.
Sabil added that three batches of secondary school students in East Darfur have been unable to sit for exams held in army-controlled areas over the past years, for the third time, citing political reasons linked to the ongoing conflict between the army and the RSF.
Plans to hold exams in areas controlled by the RSF have faced both internal and international criticism. The European Union has described the move as an “implicit call for secession,” warning of the risks of creating parallel education systems.
Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, secondary school certificate exams have not been conducted in RSF-controlled areas in Darfur and Kordofan, while exams have been held twice in territories under army control.